June 2019 Practicing Forgiveness in the Workplace - NAPS · 2019-05-29 · Practicing Forgiveness in the Workplace Can Help EAS Employees Navigate the Road to Leadership page 5. The

June 2019

Fact-Finding Panel Validates NAPS’ PositionFact-Finding Panel Validates NAPS’ Position page 4page 4

Practicing Forgiveness

in the Workplace

Practicing Forgiveness

in the WorkplaceCan Help EAS Employees

Navigate the Road to Leadership

Can Help EAS Employees Navigate the Road

to Leadershippage 5page 5

The Postal Supervisor (ISSN 0032-5384) is printedmonthly, with a combined September/Octoberissue, by the National Association of Postal Su-pervisors (NAPS), 1727 King St., Suite 400,Alexandria, VA 22314-2753; 703-836-9660; fax,703-836-9665; website, www.naps.org; generale-mail, [email protected]. ©2019

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NAPS members receive The Postal Supervisoras part of their membership dues. Members notreceiving the publica-tion on a regular basisshould notify theirbranch secretaries. Non-member subscriptionprice: $25 per year.

Submissions—Articles submitted forpublication should promote the welfare ofNAPS and its membersin accordance with Article II of the NAPSConstitution & Bylaws.The NAPS resident offi-cers reserve the right toedit all articles, as wellas decline to publishsubmitted material.Branch officer articlesmust be not more than350 words. Send all arti-cles to NAPS Secretary/Treasurer Chuck Muli-dore at [email protected].

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The publication of any advertising hereindoes not necessarily constitute NAPS endorse-ment of the products or services offered.

Postmaster—Please send address labels,clipped from undeliverable copies, along withUSPS Form 3579, to The Postal Supervisor, 1727King St., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753.

June 2019, Volume 110, No. 6

www.naps.org

Objective

The objective of the Asso-

ciation shall be to pro-

mote, through appropriate

and effective action, the

welfare of its members,

and to cooperate with the

USPS and other agencies

of the federal government

in a continuing effort to

improve the service, to

raise the standard of

efficiency, and to widen

the field of opportunity

for its members who make

the Postal Service or the

federal government their

life work.

FEATURES

4 Fact-Finding Report Validates NAPS’ Position thatEAS Pay Rates and Pay System Have ‘Serious Flaws’The fact-finding panel agreed with NAPS on nearly every aspect of itschallenge to the USPS pay plan.

8 March Consultative SDA adjustment for Business Mail Entry supervisor, HERO process for 204-Bs and extreme weather effects on NPA among items discussed.

23 NAPS Board Meeting Follows Successful LTS Minutesfrom the spring 2019 Executive Board meeting.

RESIDENT OFFICERS

3 Finding the Truth in Fact-Finding Brian J. Wagner

5 Accident Forgiveness Ivan D. Butts

6 Don’t Let the Bell Toll for You Chuck Mulidore

COLUMNS

18 Legislative Update Bob Levi

29 The NAPS Postmaster Laura Hires

DEPARTMENTS

6 Thrift Savings Plan April 2019

7 Vince Palladino Memorial Scholarships Application form

10 NAPS Training Calendar

11 NAPS of Note

19 NAPS 2019 State Conventions

20 2019 SPAC Contributors

21 SPAC Scoreboard

30 Thoughts from the NAPS Branches Dioenis D. Perez

31 Notes from the National Auxiliary Felicia Ann Hill

June 2019In This Issue

The Postal Supervisor / June 2019 3

Commentaryfrom the Resident Officers

fter a very long pay consultation and fact-finding process, NAPS received the final “Re-port and Recommendations” from the fact-finding panel on April 30. NAPS began the

FY16-19 pay consultation journey back in September2017 when it received the Postal Service’s initial FY16-19 pay proposal. What has this journey taught us?

Here is the scoop:The fact-finding panel basical-

ly supported NAPS’ position thatthe Postal Service’s EAS pay rateand pay system have seriousflaws—their term, not mine. Thepanel agreed with NAPS on nearlyevery aspect of its challenge to theUSPS pay plan and recommendedsubstantial changes to the agency’spay rates for EAS employees, aswell as their calculation.

Now that the fact-finding re-port has been received, the Postal Service, as requiredby law, must “give full and fair consideration to thepanel’s recommendation(s)” and issue its final paypackage within 15 days of the panel’s report. The lawalso requires the USPS to explain in writing any differ-ences between its final decision and the panel’s recom-mendation.

That does not mean the Postal Service must agreewith any or all of the panel’s recommendations in thefinal EAS pay decision to NAPS. The recommendationsare just that—recommendations that are not bindingto the USPS.

In NAPS’ opinion, the panel’s report validates thelongstanding concerns NAPS and many EAS employ-ees have had about the fairness of their pay and how it was determined and administered by the Postal Ser-vice.

I encourage members to read the panel’s report. Goto www.naps.org and click on “News.” You will notethe panel determined the USPS’ Pay-for-Performance(PFP) system is broken and counterproductive. In thepanel’s opinion, the PFP program, as currently de-signed and administered, is seriously flawed in that itdoes not accomplish its objectives or comply with the

requirements of the Postal Reorganization Act.Furthermore, the panel strongly recommended

that NAPS and the USPS establish a joint work groupto examine and report on the issues of locality pay, Su-pervisor Differential Adjustment (SDA), PFP and, possi-bly, a permanent cost-of-living adjustment for career,non-bargaining unit employees who are in field EASpositions.

NAPS is pleased with the fact-finding results, notonly for what they mean for all our members, butwhat they mean for all EAS employees. Why? NAPStook a stand—a big step forward—to hold the PostalService accountable in accordance with Title 39 to en-sure all EAS employees receive the proper respect andcompensation in pay and benefits.

NAPS was challenged many times during the pay-talks process. But we were not willing to step down,roll over or cave to accepting an EAS pay package thatwas less than desirable for our members or, for thatmatter, all EAS employees.

NAPS presented a solid business case at fact-find-ing with relevant documentation, credible witnesses,facts and the truth. Yes, pay consultation and fact-finding took longer than NAPS Headquarters and ourmembers expected. Getting to the truth took time andpatience.

The few extensions in time granted to the panelgave it the time necessary to review the facts and findthe truth about the flawed EAS pay rates and pay sys-tem. I commend the panel for its thoroughness andunbiased review of the facts and recommendations.

I also want to commend our NAPS pay talks team.This was nothing less than a team effort by everyone in-volved in this pay process. When called on, everyonestepped up to be the leaders NAPS needed to get the jobdone. This includes our excellent legal counsel, NAPSwitnesses, resident officers and entire Executive Board.

I commend all NAPS members for being part of thepay team, too. Indirectly, members played a vital partin our pay talks and fact-finding process. Membersparticipated in our NAPS pay survey in 2016 and pro-vided NAPS with information related to PFP and payanomalies, SDA and salary levels, to name just a few.More importantly, our members contributed when it

A

Brian J. WagnerPresident

Finding the Truth in Fact-Finding

4 June 2019 / The Postal Supervisor

On April 30, 2019, a fact-finding panel commissioned by the Federal Media-tion and Conciliation Service issued its “Report and Recommendations” in re-sponse to NAPS’ challenge to the Postal Service’s pay plan for postal managersand supervisors covering fiscal years 2016-19. Approximately 45,000 managers,supervisors and postmasters are covered by the Executive-Administrative Sched-ule (EAS).

The panel agreed with NAPS on nearly every aspect of its challenge tothe USPS pay plan and recommended substantial changes to the Postal Ser-vice’s pay rates for EAS employees, as well as their calculation.

The panel’s recommendations are not a final Postal Service pay decision. ThePostal Service, as required by law, must “give full and fair consideration to thepanel’s recommendation(s)” and issue its final pay package within 15 days of thepanel’s report. The law also requires the Postal Service to “explain in writing anydifferences between its final decision and the panel’s recommendation.”

“We are gratified by the panel’s findings and recommendations to the PostalService about how it pays EAS employees,” said President Brian Wagner. “The

panel’s report validates the longstanding con-cerns of EAS employees about the fairness oftheir pay and the Postal Service’s compliancewith the law.”

The panel found that the USPS’ Pay-for-Performance (PFP) system is broken andcounterproductive. “[T]he panel is of theopinion that the PFP program, as currentlydesigned and administered, is seriouslyflawed in that it does not accomplish its ob-jectives or comport with the requirements ofthe PRA [Postal Reorganization Act].” Thepanel “strongly recommends that the partiesestablish a joint work group to examine andreport on the issues of locality pay, SDA, PFPand, possibly, a permanent cost-of-living ad-justment for career, non-bargaining-unit em-ployees who are in field EAS positions”

NAPS presented a solid business case atfact-finding with relevant documentationand credible witnesses. NAPS is pleased withthe fact-finding results, not only for all of itsmembers, but for all EAS employees, too.“We trust that the Postal Service will agree toimplement the panel’s recommendations,”Wagner said. “NAPS looks forward to work-ing with the Postal Service in promptly con-vening a work group to focus on those issuesthat require further joint study.”

Fact-Finding Report Validates NAPS’Position that EAS Pay Rates and PaySystem Have ‘Serious Flaws’

counted by being patient, under-standing and trusting in their na-tional officers while awaiting thefact-finding report and recommen-dations.

NAPS members now know thefact-found truth and can be proudthat the panel’s report validatesNAPS’ position that its EAS membersdeserve better pay rates and a betterpay system. Now that fact-finding iscompleted, we must wait to see ifthe truth will present itself in anEAS field pay decision from thePostal Service.

Besides being pleased with thefact-finding panel’s recommenda-tions, I also am pleased with my icecream flavor of the month recom-mendation for June: true vanilla.

[email protected]

NAPS is pleased to announce we have a mailbox for members tosubmit photos for our social media outlets. We want to hear from you!Members can send photos of NAPS activities directly to NAPS Head-quarters at [email protected]. We will review the submissionsbefore posting on our social media outlets.

We encourage members to submit photos of branch meetings,social outings, meetings with postal leaders, meetings with congres-sional leaders in their districts, attendance at career awareness con-ferences and more.

When submitting a photo, please tell us about the event, thenames of the members in the photo and when the event occurred.Also, please send hi-resolution photos; we want everyone to lookgood.

We look forward to increasing our presence on social media withthis initiative. Like, follow, share!

NAPS Newsbreak


national insurance carrier is airing numerouscommercials using actor Dennis Haysbert toadvertise its “accident forgiveness” coverage.The company is one of the largest insurance

providers in the United States. With this insurance,you are eligible for five years of accident- and viola-tion-free driving, regardless of when you switched.

What a great way to honordedication and loyalty. Wouldn’tthat be a great thing to have in theworkplace? Over the past twodecades, much research has beenpublished about the positive im-pact of forgiveness, particularly forthe forgiver and in relationships.Now, another study building on asmaller, but growing, body of re-search in the workplace supportsthe power of forgiveness to poten-tially improve well-being and pro-

ductivity in professional settings.I know this study flies in the face of some of the

things we see as NAPS advocates: longtime, front-line,middle- and senior-level managers with impeccablerecords calling for NAPS advocacy. New EAS employeeswho have yet to receive and, in some cases, even com-pleted New Supervisor Training (NSP) calling for NAPSadvocacy. New EAS employees with fewer than twoyears of postal knowledge, skills and abilities beingpromoted to management calling for NAPS advocacyassistance.

What I have seen in the various versions of NSP iswhat Postal Service leadership has admitted. That isthe consistent failure to properly mentor and developnew leaders. However, this same leadership standsready, willing and able to toss these new EAS employ-ees out of the USPS with the first incident in their un-prepared venture on the road of leadership.

We recently were briefed on the latest aberration ofthe NSP. When asked what will make this process anybetter than other programs, we were told new EAS em-ployees would be assigned a coach when they go totheir assigned unit. NAPS realizes that all prior pro-grams have failed to allow new EAS employees to de-velop because of a lack of proper mentoring and devel-oping and, in some cases, never even completing theprogram. The only exception to this was the original16-week Associate Supervisor Program (ASP) course

that was managed at the area level.Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand the sink-

or-swim mentality. This mentoring-and-developing at-titude continues to be a part of the managerial growthprocess, despite efforts to change the culture. However,it now is being exacerbated by the continuing trend ofour most experienced employees having no desire tomove into management based on how they see EASemployees treated by leadership. We actually hearabout EAS employees now having no desire to moveup the ranks of leadership as potential change agentsbecause of how this culture of unforgiveness is fester-ing.

In the study, forgiveness was linked to increasedproductivity, decreased absenteeism (fewer days miss-ing work) and fewer mental and physical health prob-lems, such as sadness and headaches. The study alsoshowed these benefits were explained partly by reduc-tions in interpersonal stress that went along with aforgiving disposition.

This research is vital to employees and employersalike, as a lack of forgiveness negatively affects the in-dividuals involved and organizations as a whole. Hold-ing onto negative feelings after a conflict may lead todisengagement at work, a lack of collaboration and ag-gressive behavior. Carrying a grudge also is associatedwith increased stress and a host of negative emotions,including anger, hostility and vengeful rumination.

What impact could be made with forgiveness fornon-fatal errors versus crucifixion (Merit Systems Pro-tection Board)? What if an apology led to a rightteaching moment to help mentor and develop an EASemployee to correct leadership skills? We may neverknow. What we do know is that there is an increase inDDF cases going to the MSPB (crucifixion). We also areseeing that more and more adverse action cases arebeing denied ELM 650 mediation (teaching moments).

Forgiveness, of course, does not mean we condoneor ignore bad behavior. We should have policies andprocedures for dealing quickly with serious transgres-sions. However, we should be ready, if the situationwarrants, to give forgiveness a try. Until then, NAPScontinues to stand willing and able to support mem-bers through our DDF process.

In solidarity …[email protected]

A

Ivan D. ButtsExecutive Vice President

Accident Forgiveness


oday is only one day in all the days that willever be. But what will happen in all the otherdays that ever come can depend on what youdo today.” These words were written by Ernest

Hemingway in his 1940 novel, “For Whom the BellTolls.” You may wonder how words from a novelbased on the Spanish Civil War can have relevance toyour life as an EAS employee in the Postal Service.

I recently attended a NAPSevent where one of the issues thatcame up was EAS falsification oftime and scans. In other words, EASemployees changing employeeclock rings or entering scanningdata that is not accurate. This oftenis done to meet a mandate fromsome higher-level entity indicatingall carriers must be off the street bya certain time or all scans must bevalidated prior to the facility clos-ing or meeting a cut-off time.

NAPS preaches that each employee must resistthese artificial and often conflicting mandates andthat each employee must maintain their personal in-tegrity and not falsify scan data. NAPS further urges allEAS employees to confront these mandates by lettingtheir bosses know the mandate is impossible to attainor simply cannot be done that day.

We understand this can be a difficult task. Is it easyto tell your boss the mandate they are attempting toenforce from their boss and theirbosses’ boss is not possible? No,it is not; we recognize that. Yet,each of us must maintain ourhonesty and truthfulness be-cause if we cannot do that in theface of an impractical or illogicalmandate, then we open our-selves to the risk of a variety ofevents that may occur, none ofwhich will be good.

In the minutes of the spring2019 Executive Board meetingpublished in this issue (see page23), it is noted that, in 2018, 150cases were processed through theNAPS Disciplinary Defense Fund(DDF). These included adverse

action cases appealed to the Merit Systems ProtectionBoard (MSPB). One of the leading charges made by thePostal Service against EAS employees is falsification.

While the NAPS DDF is the best in the businessand one of the benefits of your membership in NAPS,we do not want to see any EAS employee put them-selves in jeopardy of losing their job. You see, the verypeople who give you an unrealistic directive are thesame people who will issue your adverse action for fal-sifying data to accomplish their absurd instruction.

So, just don’t do it! Push back; send an email thatexplains you cannot accomplish the order of the dayand you need your boss to help you accomplish themission. You most likely will not receive an email inresponse, but continue to document your concernsand, at the end of the day, do NOT falsify any data.You will not be fired for having integrity and courage,but you may be fired for falsifying data.

And, by the way, your boss most likely will devel-op postal amnesia when you plead you only were try-ing to enforce an impossible order; you will, most like-ly, suffer all the consequences. Thus, please maintainyour personal honesty and integrity because, remem-ber: While today is but only one day in all the days ofyour life, what will happen in all those other days maydepend on what you do today.

Do the right thing—for yourself, your family andthe Postal Service.

[email protected]

T

Chuck MulidoreSecretary/Treasurer

Don’t Let the Bell Toll for You“

Thrift Savings PlanFund G F C S I

Visit the TSP website at www.tsp.gov

Fund L Income L 2020 L 2030 L 2040 L 2050

April 2019 0.89% 1.16% 2.23% 2.62% 2.96%12-month 4.20% 4.56% 6.07% 6.54% 6.91%These returns are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and investment expenses/costs. Theperformance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investmentreturns and principal value will fluctuate, so that investors’ shares, when sold, may be worth more or less thantheir original cost. The L 2010 Fund was retired on Dec. 31, 2010.

April 2019 0.21% 0.02% 4.05% 3.69% 2.92%12-month 2.90% 5.42% 13.48% 8.71% (2.78%)The G, F, C, S, and I Fund returns for the last 12 months assume unchanging balances (time-weighting) frommonth to month, and assume that earnings are compounded on a monthly basis.

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________Student’s name (please PRINT legibly) Major course of study

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________Name of accredited two- or four-year college or university attended City and state of the college or universityor will be attending

________________________________________________ ___________NAPS member’s name NAPS member’s

branch number

________________________________________________Student’s relationship to NAPS member (son, granddaughter, etc.)

______________________________________________________________NAPS member’s PO box/street address

_______________________________________ ______ ______________City State ZIP+4

Please mail completed application to NAPS Scholarships, Attn: Chuck Mulidore, Secretary/Treasurer, 1727 King St., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753. Thank you.

2019 Official Application Form

Vince Palladino Memorial Student Scholarships

Vince Palladino Memorial Student Scholarships

National Association of Postal Supervisors

he Vince Palladino Memorial

Student Scholarships are awarded

in memory of the late NAPS presi-

dent and honor his dedication to NAPS

members and their families. These scholar-

ships are sponsored solely by NAPS.

Applicants for this scholarship

must be the children or grandchil-

dren of a living NAPS member, ac-

tive or associate, at the time of

drawing. Furthermore, the children

or grandchildren must be attending or have been accepted

by an accredited two- or four-year college or university.

NAPS will award 10 $1,000 Vince Palladino Memo-

rial Student Scholarships. Two winners will be randomly

selected from each of the NAPS regional areas (North-

east, Eastern, Central, Southern and Western).

This application must be received no later

than July 31, 2019, at the address provided below.

Scholarship winners will be announced

in August. In addition, the scholarship

winners will be listed in the October 2019

issue of The Postal Supervisor.

Members whose child or grandchild

have been awarded a Vince Palladino

Memorial Student Scholarship will re-

ceive a check, payable to the college or university listed

in the application, in October 2019. Scholarships may

be used to pay expenses in the student’s current or fol-

lowing semester.

Applications must be received at

NAPS Headquarters no later than July31, 2019

TT

deadline: July 31, 2019


March 14 Consultative

he March 14 consultativemeeting was held in con-junction with the springNAPS Executive Board meet-

ing; all board members were present.Representing the Postal Service wereBruce Nicholson, Phong Quang andHenry Bear, USPS Labor RelationsPolicy Administration.

Agenda Item #1NAPS brought Agenda Item #6

from the Aug. 18, 2018, consultativeto the table:

The Supervisor Differential Ad-justment (SDA) for the position ofSupervisor, Business Mail Entry, isprovided under the category of “AllOther Eligible EAS-15 to EAS-19” onthe SDA scale found in ELM Exhibit412.12b.

NAPS has been made aware thisEAS position/occupational code doesnot supervise any PS-6 craft employ-ees. NAPS contends this EAS positionis not being paid a proper SDA perthe employees being managed.

NAPS requested the ELM bechanged to adequately reflect theSDA for the position of supervisor,

Business Mail Entry. This SDA cate-gory should be at the craft positionof PS-7, step O.

NAPS also requested the USPSconsults with NAPS on providingcompensation for monies not paidto these impacted employees due totheir not being correctly categorizedfor SDA purposes.

The position is appropriately classi-fied under “All Other Eligible” on theSDA list and is consistent with SDApolicy.

This ELM change request is a mat-ter that should be addressed during paytalks that address “changes in pay poli-cies and schedules and fringe benefitprograms for members of the supervi-sors’ organization.”

NAPS brought this item back tothe table in disagreement with theUSPS’ determination. During the Au-gust 2018 consultative, the USPS al-leged this position did supervise PS-6employees, which supported its SDAdetermination.

NAPS has confirmed that the su-pervisor, Business Mail Entry, posi-tion does not supervise any PS-6 or

lower-level craft employees. NAPSprovided a list of all employees as-signed to supervisor, Business MailEntry; all these craft employees areLevel PS-7.

The Postal Service advised in Au-gust 2018 that this requested change toSDA policy was a matter that should beaddressed during pay talks. This is theproper forum to address “changes in paypolicies and schedules and fringe benefitprograms for members of the supervi-sors’ organization.”

Labor Relations received correspon-dence from NAPS asking to discuss sever-al items outside the pay consultationprocess with the Postal Service, includingthe SDA for the position of supervisor,Business Mail Entry. A meeting wasscheduled for Feb. 20, 2019. Unfortu-nately, due to unforeseen circumstances,the meeting was cancelled. We have re-quested NAPS’ availability to reschedule.

Agenda Item #2NAPS requested the USPS creates

a HERO process that would allow204-Bs to access everything to whicha regular supervisor is authorizedwith successful completion of the re-quired training.

NAPS contends this type of edu-cational process might help; when204-Bs become supervisors, they willneed less training.

Local management is empowered todetermine the programs to which actingsupervisors should have access; there isa process in place to request access tothose programs. The Postal Service isopen to discussing any specific programs

T

SDA Adjustment for Business Mail Entry Supervisor,HERO Process for 204-Bs and Extreme Weather Effects on NPA Among Items Discussed

Exhibit 412.12bPosition Groups Eligible for Supervisor Differential Adjustment Rate

Position Group Minimum Salary Is 5 Percent Above

Plant Maintenance PS-10, step P

Vehicle Services PS-8, step O

Postal Police RSC Y, step 23

All Other Eligible EAS-15 to EAS-19 PS-6, step O

to which NAPS believes acting supervi-sors should have access.

Agenda Item #3Our nation recently observed a

national day of mourning for the fu-neral of President George H.W. Bush,Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. NAPSasked what specifically was done tomitigate all the affected NPA indica-tors (including, but not limited to,multiple service score indicators,workhours, scanning, etc., at the na-tional, area, district, MPOO, Lead Fi-nance number and Unit Financenumber levels) impacted as a resultof this national day of mourning.

The Postal Service applied the exist-ing business rules used for federal holi-days in the same manner as the nation-al day of mourning. If the scheduleddelivery date or expected delivery datewas on this day, based on service stan-dards, it was shifted to the next appli-cable delivery day. The Postal Servicedid not identify any negative impacts tothe NPA indicators as a result of thisnational day of mourning.

Agenda Item #4NAPS asked about the impacts of

the extreme polar vortex. The USPSdid not deliver mail in many dis-tricts on Wednesday, Jan. 30. OnThursday, Jan. 31, some districts didnot deliver mail for the second con-secutive day; some districts did notdeliver mail for their first day.

The impact of these two non-delivery days affected areas and dis-tricts differently because of variousvolumes of origination and destina-tion locations in and outside the im-pacted non-delivery days.

NAPS asked what specially wasdone to mitigate all the affected NPAindicators (including, but not limit-ed to, multiple service score indica-tors, workhours, scanning, etc., atthe national, area, district, MPOO,Lead Finance number and Unit Fi-

nance number levels) impacted bythese non-delivery days.

The Postal Service conducted an ini-tial analysis to determine the impacts ofthe polar vortex resulting in non-deliver-ies on Jan. 30 and 31 in some districts.Results did not show a significant im-pact to year-to-date NPA scores and,therefore, no mitigation was done. ThePostal Service plans to review the dataagain later in the fiscal year to makefinal determinations.

The following are regarding resolu-tions adopted at the 2018 NAPS Na-tional Convention:

Resolution 55: Current EASLevel-18 post offices that are CSV of-fices and report their CSAWs havetheir weekly F4 earned hours thatthe postmaster “can” work reducedby 15 hours. NAPS requested theCSAW program in Level-18 offices bechanged so as not to automaticallydeduct the 15 hours the postmastercould work as allotted by the con-tract, but only deduct the actualhours worked by the postmaster.

This resolution is not adopted. Theexpectation is for non-bargaining em-ployees in Level-18 offices to work the15 hours of bargaining-unit work perweek.

Resolution 61: Investigative,corrective and disciplinary actionsby the Postal Service are not timely.Some actions in response to allega-tions have been issued as long astwo years after the incidents. Someof these issues involve alleged proce-dural, instructional, financial, con-duct and behavioral actions againstNAPS members.

NAPS contends there are no suchdeadlines/timelines that pertain tothese procedures being adhered to attimes by USPS leadership when cor-rective or disciplinary actions arebrought against NAPS members.

NAPS requests the Postal Servicedefine timelines/deadlines that af-ford its members due process in amore capsulated timeframe andthose same actions be progressive incorrective and disciplinary proceed-ings (that is, discussions, letters ofwarning, suspensions, last-chanceagreements and termination).

NAPS further requests the de-fined timelines be no more than 30days from the first Investigative In-terview or no more than 60 daysfrom the date of incident, whicheveris first.

Actions such as non-disciplinary cor-rective measures, letters of warning, let-ters of warning in lieu of time-off suspen-sions and adverse actions are differentcorrective measures that may be imposedon non-bargaining employees and shouldbe on a progressive basis, depending onthe seriousness of the offense.

The Postal Service expects that deci-sions concerning whether disciplinaryaction will be imposed are to be madewithout undue delay. Such decisionsshould be made based on considerationof relevant factors and should comport,where applicable, with regulations de-lineating elements that should be con-sidered. Some circumstances may allowfor such decisions in less or more timethan others. Some circumstances maycall for investigatory consideration,


The Postal Supervisor2019 Production Schedule

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evaluation and other situation-specificelements that could require more timethan is needed in other circumstances.The Postal Service will not establish thetime limit NAPS recommends in thisitem.

Resolution 62: The USPS haschanged the processing of deliverystandards of mail. NAPS notes that,currently, mail is not under thesame time standards and networksas it was in the past. In concert withthis, NAPS advocates have only 10days to file an ELM 652.231 appealfor LOWs and mediations.

NAPS requests that ELM 652.231—in reference to time limits to re-quest an appeal, records or media-tion—be changed to 30 days andthat ELM 652.231 be revised to re-flect the new time limit.

This resolution is not adopted. Fol-lowing is the response provided duringthe January 2017 consultative meetingto the same agenda item/resolution:

ELM 652 provides an opportunityfor employees who receive a notice ofdiscipline, including adverse actions, anopportunity to be heard prior to andafter a final decision is issued by themanagement officials involved. Thechange in the mail delivery standardsdoes not affect an employee’s time lim-its when they are issued or receive a

On the Move?

Have you moved or are planning amove? Let NAPS know, too!Keeping your mailing address cur-rent at NAPS Headquarters helps uskeep The Postal Supervisor comingto you without interruption andavoid unnecessary “Address ServiceRequested” charges.Please let us know your new addressand its effective date as soon as youknow it. Address changes may bemailed to NAPS at 1727 King St.,Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753, or faxed to (703) 836-9665.

Continued on page 21

NAPS Training CalendarRocky Mountain Area TrainingJune 6-8, 2019

Conducted by: Rocky Mountain Area VPMyrna Pashinski

Location: Phoenix Airport Marriott, 1101North 44th St., Phoenix, AZ 85008; (800)228-9290

Hotel Rate: $94 plus tax; rate expires May17; use group code NPSNPSA

Registration Fee: $135, due by May 17;make checks payable to NAPS Headquar-ters (in the memo section, indicate “RMATraining”). Mail checks to Myrna Pashinski,21593 E. Layton Dr., Aurora, CO 80015-6781.

Training Topics: TBD

Texas Area TrainingJune 6-8, 2019

In conjunction with the Texas State Convention

Conducted by: Texas Area VP Jaime Eli-zondo

Location: Holiday Inn Downtown Marina,707 N. Shoreline Dr., Corpus Christi, TX78401; (361) 882-1700

Room Rate: $149 plus tax (before May 17)

Training Topics: Adverse action, EAP, mil-lennials

Instructors: Texas Area VP Jaime Elizon-do, EAP staff

Michiana Area TrainingJune 7, 2019

In conjunction with the Michigan State Convention

Conducted by: Michiana Area VP KevinTrayer and attorney Glenn Smith

Location: Four Points by Sheraton, 3600E. Cork Street Ct., Kalamazoo, MI 49001;269-385-3922

Hotel Rate: $102

Registration Fee: Free

Training Topic: ELM 650

Northwest Area TrainingJune 21-22, 2019

In conjunction with the Northwest Area Convention

Conducted by: Northwest Area VP Cindy McCracken

Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 1840 Hwy.,

U.S. 93 S, Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-4500; www.kalispell.hgi.com; use groupcode “NAPS19”

Room Rate: $120

Registration Fee: $110


Western Region TrainingSeminarAug. 1-4, 2019

Conducted by: Western Region VP MarilynWalton, Northwest Area VP Cindy McCrack-en, Rocky Mountain Area VP Myrna Pashin-ski and Pacific Area VP Chuck Lum

Location: Sunset Station Hotel & Casino,1301 West Sunset Rd., Henderson, NV89014; 888-786-7389; use group code “SCINAPS”

Hotel Rate: $49 plus taxes/Thursday; $89plus taxes/Friday and Saturday. You muststay Friday and Saturday night to receivethis rate.

Registration Fee: $175; $220 if not stay-ing at the host hotel. After July 12, regis-tration is $220. Make checks payable toNAPS Headquarters and mail to MyrnaPashinski, 21593 E. Layton Dr., Aurora, CO80015-6781. Everyone eating lunch mustbe registered for the seminar or purchasea meal ticket: $45 per person per day.

Training Topics: representation training,panel discussion and Q&A sessions; othertopics TBD

Central Region TrainingOct. 4-5, 2019

Conducted by: Central Region VP CraigJohnson

Location: Hyatt Regency Bloomington,3200 E. 81st St., Bloomington, MN 55425;(866) 238-4218. The Hyatt offers freeshuttle service to and from the airport, aswell as to the Mall of America. Light railservice to the mall and downtown is avail-able outside the airport.

Room Rate: TBD



NAPS of Note

April was National Poetry Month.NAPS member and Kingston, NJ, Postmas-ter Richard Micallefis a semi-finalist inPoetry Nation’s Na-tional Amateur Po-etry Competition.Poems were accept-ed until April 2, sothe results won’t beknown until afterthis issue goes to print. Following is thefirst stanza of the poem he entered:“Wings”You are the drive on other side of meI look to one side and you are there,I glance to the left and there you are still.You keep me flying on the straight and narrowNot allowing me to stray off course.

NAPS Postmaster NamedSemi-Finalist in Poetry Competition

Lehigh-Pocono, PA,Branch 387 held a re-tirement celebrationthis past October. Fromleft: Ernesto Rodriguez,Rick Roccobono, PeterMarth, Branch 387President Dee Ma-honey, Jerry Radocha,Kim Organetti andMary Dion.

Branch 39 Vice Presi-dent Sam Booth Jr. andMembership Chair Alve-tia E. Smith were at thededication ceremony forthe Marvin Gaye stamp.Alvetia is retired, but thePostal Service continuesto use her for specialevents and first-day cer-emonies. She also coor-dinates swearing-in cer-emonies for newpostmasters. Alvetia isan exceptional eventplanner and has beensuccessful increasingrevenue for the districtwith product sales fromthe first-day ceremonies.

Alvetia E. Smith and Sam Booth Jr. withHoward Hewett, former lead vocalist withthe R&B group Shalimar. Hewitt addressedthe crowd at the first-day ceremony andsang a dedication to Marvin Gaye.

On April 2, the Postal Service held a First Day of Issue dedication ceremonyfor the Marvin Gaye commemorative stamp at the historic Greek Theater inLos Angeles. Joining postal executives for the event were Motown Recordsfounder Berry Gordy, singer Smokey Robinson and emcee Mary Wilson fromthe Supremes.

During his meeting withNAPS members, Rep. MaxRose (D-NY) agreed to co-sponsor H. Res. 23, a non-binding resolution that resi-dential and business doordelivery should be continued.Rose previously co-sponsoredthree of the four bills NAPSpursued. From left: Staten Is-land Branch 110 PresidentJohn Schlosser, New YorkArea Vice President JimmyWarden, Rose and NortheastRegion Vice PresidentTommy Roma.


From left: Bruce Nicholson, USPS Labor Relations Policy Administration manager; Kendrick Comulada, UPMA, Caribbean District; JosianPineiro, NAPS Caribbean Branch 216; Jose Rodriguez, Branch 216 president; Elvin Mercado, USPS A/Westchester District manager; JimmyWarden, NAPS New York Area vice president; Tommy Roma, Northeast Region vice president; Lisa Ojeda, USPS Caribbean District manager;Carissa Surprise, USPS Northeast Area A/Senior Operations program analyst; Antonio Carbrera, NAPS Branch 216 president; and Eric Chavez,USPS Northeast Area vice president.

Northeast Region Training SeminarNortheast Region Vice President Tommy Roma, with the help of New York Area Vice President Jimmy Warden, MideastArea Vice President Tony Dallojacono and New England Area Vice President Cy Dumas, conducted the Northeast Re-gion Training Seminar March 29-31 in San Juan, PR. Topics included Labor Relations, SWCs, Sales, operational excel-lence and the New Supervisor Program, among others. President Brian Wagner discussed the status of pay talks. Execu-tive Vice President Ivan D. Butts talked aboutlegislation and SPAC. Secretary-Treasurer ChuckMulidore promoted membership and explainedthe DCO. Special thanks to Auxiliary ExecutiveVice President Laurie Butts and Hazel Green forstaffing the SPAC raffle table; $5,640 was raisedfor SPAC.

The 2019 Northeast Region Training Seminarhad an outstanding turnout.

From left: USPS Northeast Area Vice President EricChavez, USPS A/Westchester District Manager Elvin Mer-cado, NAPS New York Area Vice President Jimmy War-den, USPS Caribbean District Manager Lisa Ojeda, USPSLabor Relations Policy Administration Manager BruceNicholson, USPS Labor Relations Vice President DougTulino and NAPS Northeast Region Vice PresidentTommy Roma.


A Q&A session was held with Postal Service officials.

USPS NortheastArea A/Senior Op-erations ProgramAnalyst CarissaSurprise addressedattendees.

USPS Caribbean DistrictManager Lisa Ojeda warmlywelcomed the seminar atten-dees. She provided an up-date on the status of opera-tions since Hurricane Maria.

USPS NortheastArea 2 Sales Direc-tor Michelle Sher-bert addressed at-tendees.

NAPS members Jackie Clayton (left) and Cecilia Pelletier withHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Jackie Clayton, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Cecilia Pelletier

Jackie Clayton, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Cecilia Pelletier Jackie Clayton, Rep. Susie Lee and Cecilia Pelletier

On March 29, Las Vegas District Branch 463 members Jackie Clayton,treasurer, and Cecilia Pelletier, legislative rep, attended a reception withHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Spago at the Bellagio Hotel to benefitNevada Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford and Susie Lee.

Jackie Clayton and Rep. Steven Horsford


South Jersey Branch 74 members present-ed Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) with a copyof “How the Post Office Created Ameri-ca.” From left: Russell Carmody, PeteClemens, George Barrett, Van Drew,James Fisher and Robert Hudson.

Miami Branch 146 members EddySuarez and Ilia Marino met Rep.Donna Shalala (D-FL) at a town hallmeeting.

Westchester District held a career day at the Holiday Inn in Mount Kisco, NY. WestchesterCounty Branch 336 members staffed a table and spoke to many attendees about potentialcareer paths in management. From left: Michael Landers, associate; Linda Morgan-Glover,president; Elizabeth David, vice president; and Rita Cody, treasurer.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)addressed NAPS members at theIllinois State convention. Fromleft: Central Region Vice Presi-dent Craig Johnson, Illini AreaVice President Luz Moreno, Illi-nois Legislative Chair RickyHilliard, Krishnamoorthi, Nation-al Secretary/Treasurer ChuckMulidore, Michiana Area VicePresident Kevin Trayer and WestSuburban Branch 289 PresidentRay Elliott.


Attending the April 12-13 Tennessee State Convention and training seminar were, from left: Cotton Belt Area Vice President Shri Green, Ten-nessee District Manager Christopher Alexander, Memphis Plant Manager Jamel Jones, Memphis NDC Manager Leslie Hawkins, NAPS Ten-nessee State Vice President Robert McMurry, Treasurer Robert Wakefield, NAPS Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts, Tennessee State Presi-dent Donna Aaron, Memphis Postmaster Reginald Capers and Eastern Area MOS Angela Curtis.

NAPS Executive Board members and DDF provider, from left: Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts, Southern Region Vice President TimFord, Central Gulf Area Vice President Cornel Rowel Sr., Cotton Belt Area Vice President Shri Green, Southeast Area Vice President Bob Quinlan, DDF provider Al Lum and Texas Area Vice President Jaime Elizondo Jr.

This year’s state convention and training boasted 25 first-timers, some who are pictured here.


So. California Bay District Branch 266 Secretary Evelyn Benjamin(left) and Legislative Chair Willie Ann Hawkins with Jose Miran-da, aide to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA).

Michael Chernin, legislative assistant to Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), withBranch 39 legislative rep Yolanda Grayson, Vice President SamBooth Jr., Auxiliary President Patricia Jackson-Kelley and Branch 39member Velma McClinton.

Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA), right, and her chief-of-staffRobert E. Primus with Branch 266 members Willie Ann Hawkinsand Evelyn Benjamin.

Khaula Kaiser, aide to Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), with Patricia Jack-son-Kelley, Yolanda Grayson, Velma McClinton and Sam Booth Jr.

Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), center, with Gateway, MO,Branch 31 Vice President Robert Daggs, President Virginia PriceBooker and Byron Edwards.

Patrick Fergusson, legislative director for Rep. Maxine Waters(D-CA), with Sam Booth Jr., Yolanda Grayson, Velma McClinton,Branch 39 President Marilyn Jones and Patricia Jackson-Kelley.

2019 LTS Hill Visits

Los Angeles Branch 39


Bob LeviDirector of Legislative &Political Affairs

n case you don’t appreci-ate the extraordinary consequence

that postal legislation has for Ameri-can businesses, allow me to share

some eye-opening lobbying datafiled for calendar year 2018. In away, this information can quantifythe value that enactment or defeatof meaningful postal legislation hasto specific postal stakeholders.

Current law requires organiza-tions retaining registered lobbyists,whether in-house or by contract, toreport the amount of money thoseorganizations spend on trying to in-fluence public policy. As part of thefiling, the organizations must list thebills and issues on which they havelobbied. This information is submit-ted to the clerk of the House of Rep-resentatives and the Senate and ispublicly disclosed on the House andSenate websites.

Postal-interested groups rangefrom the American Lung Associa-tion, a charitable organization inter-ested in nonprofit postage, to Wal-mart, a brick-and-mortar retailercompeting with Amazon for ecom-merce. Of course, NAPS, laborunions and the “usual suspects” inthe postal world also must file. Inthe most recent submissions, whichwere for the first quarter of 2019,more than 80 postal lobbyists regis-tered with the House and Senate.

To fully grasp the magnitude ofthis influential group, you need to

look at the final lobbyingreport for 2018. The 2018filing lists about the samenumber of registered lobby-ists as reported for the firstquarter of 2019. The “leader

board” for 2018 is not surprising.Heading the pack was Amazon at$14.4 million, FedEx spent $10.1 mil-

lion and the expedited delivery giantwas followed closely by UPS at $9.4million. Those were the big three.

Other notable postal players in-cluded the Magazine Publishers,which spent $550,000, the combina-tion of Hallmark Cards and theGreeting Card Association expended$320,000 and the newly establishedPackage Coalition paid out $300,000.Finally, the combined reported ex-penses of the postal labor unionsand management associations to-taled $1.5 million.

It is important to note that thesenumbers do not include the millionsof dollars in campaign contributionsmade through established politicalaction committees (PACs) orthrough direct contributions fromcorporate officers to congressionalcandidates. That’s for another article.

Each of the postal players havespecific interests regarding the con-tent of postal legislation and will useall the resources at their disposal toadvance their cause. (NAPS will dothe same.) For example, in the pastyear, UPS (aka Big Brown) pushed itsweight with the White House to in-clude a number of recommendationsin the President’s Task Force on theU.S. Postal System harmful to thePostal Service, its employees and

many parcel customers. For this rea-son, in addition to smart, targetedlobbying, NAPS needs to maximizeour most valuable asset: our exten-sive and effective grassroots network.

NAPS members live and work inevery state and virtually every con-gressional district. We are over27,000 members strong, committedto fighting for postal viability. With-out a viable Postal Service, there areno supervisors. So, please tune in toour weekly podcast—NAPS Chat—toget the scoop on the latest issues inthe postal world.

The sustainability of the PostalService came into clearer focus withtwo recent reports issued by thePostal Regulatory Commission(PRC): the Annual Compliance De-termination (ACD) and the FY18 Fi-nancial Analysis of the Postal Ser-vice. Both reports were sobering. TheACD reviews the USPS’ compliancewith postal law, paying particular at-tention to service; the FinancialAnalysis examines the USPS’ 10-KStatement, a comprehensive, year-end fiscal statement.

In the ACD, the PRC concludedthat USPS performance declined fora majority of postal products as com-pared to the previous fiscal year and,for most products, the USPS failed tomeet performance targets for FY18.The PRC also took note of declinesin postal accessibility. The PRC docu-mented the continuing decrease inthe number of retail outlets and col-lection boxes. As compared to theprevious year, the USPS reduced thenumber of USPS-managed outlets by53 (a two-year reduction of 261) andreduced the number of non-USPS-managed outlets by 205 (a two-yearreduction of 508).

Ironically, the data shows that,although the USPS is promoting al-ternative channels for conducting

There’s Value in Fightingfor Meaningful Postal Reform

LegislativeUpdate

I

postal business (for ex-ample, usps.com and“postal partners”),postal walk-in revenuedeclined by only 0.7percent as compared tothe decline in internet-generated revenue of3.7 percent and the de-cline of “other meansof conducting postalcommerce” by 5.2 per-cent. This demon-strates the importance of postal-branded retail outlets staffed bywell-trained postal employees.

The Financial Analysis reported aUSPS net loss of $2.1 billion in FY18and attributed the loss primarily tothe persistent decline of First-ClassMail and increased operating ex-penses. Revenue from First-ClassMail fell by about 4 percent. Also,

while the volume and revenue grewfor competitive classes of mail, in-cluding small parcels, the increaseslowed as compared to last year.Moreover, the PRC illustrated thatthe retiree health “unfunded liabili-ty” continues to be a drag on postalvitality.

With the release of these two re-ports, NAPS urges the PRC to release

its final recommendationsfor establishing a revisedpostal rate-setting system.Late last year, the PRC is-sued preliminary rate-set-ting recommendationsthat would help the PostalService. Since then, the va-cancy on the PRC has beenfilled; the five-membercommission now is operat-ing at full strength.

Furthermore, theHouse Committee on Oversight andReform tentatively scheduled a hear-ing for late April, after this issuewent to the printer. NAPS is pushingfor the introduction and promptconsideration of a constructivepostal bill soon after the hearing.Watch for NAPS legislative updatesfor news.

[email protected]


SPACContribution

FormAggregate contributions made in acalendar year correspond with thesedonor levels:

$1,000—President’s Ultimate SPAC

$750—VP Elite

$500—Secretary’s Roundtable

$250—Chairman’s Club

$100—Supporter

Current as of February 2019

Federal regulations prohibit SPACcontributions by branch check orbranch credit card.

Mail to:SPAC1727 KING ST STE 400ALEXANDRIA VA 22314-2753

Contribution Amount $___________ Branch #___________

Name________________________________________________________

Home Address/PO Box ___________________________________________

City__________________________________________ State__________

ZIP+4__________________________________ Date _________________

Employee ID Number (EIN) or Civil Service Annuitant (CSA) Number ________________________________

Enclosed is my voluntary contribution to SPAC by one of the following methods:

❏ Check or money order made payable to SPAC; do not send cash

❏ Credit card (circle one): Visa American Express MasterCard Discover

Card number ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Security code (three- or four- digit number on back of card) _______________

Card expiration date: ______ /______

Signature (required for credit card charges) ____________________________________________

❏ In-Kind Donation (e.g., gift card, baseball tickets):

Describe gift _________________________________________ Value ______________

All contributions to the Supervisors’ Political Action Committee (SPAC) are voluntary, have no bear-ing on NAPS membership status and are unrelated to NAPS membership dues. There is no obliga-tion to contribute to SPAC and no penalty for choosing not to contribute. Only NAPS members andfamily members living in their households may contribute to SPAC. Contributions to SPAC are limit-ed to $5,000 per individual in a calendar year. Contributions to SPAC are not tax-deductible.

NAPS 2019 State ConventionsDates State(s) LocationJune 6-8 Michigan Kalamazoo

June 6-8 Texas Corpus Christi

June 7-8 Minnesota Fair Hills Resort, Detroit Lakes

June 20-23 GA/FL Bi-State St. Augustine, FL

June 20-22 Pennsylvania Best Western, Bethlehem

June 21-22 Northwest Area Kalispell, MT

June 23-25 New Jersey Resorts Hotel, Atlantic City

Aug. 1-4 Pioneer Area Holiday Inn, Youngstown, OH

Information and registration forms are available at www.naps.org.


2019 SPAC Contributors

Top 2019 SPAC Contributor

Butts, Ivan PA Branch 355

President’s Ultimate SPAC ($1,000+)

Walton, Marilyn CA Branch 77Mullins, Kym FL Branch 81Foley, Paul MA Branch 120Wileman, Dotty MD Branch 923Geter, John NC Branch 183Amash, Joseph NY Branch 83Roma, Thomas NY Branch 68Warden, James NY Branch 100Butts, Ivan PA Branch 355Austin, Jessie TX Branch 122

April Contributors

President’s Ultimate SPAC ($1,000+)

Mullins, Kym FL Branch 81Wileman, Dotty MD Branch 923Roma, Thomas NY Branch 68Warden, James NY Branch 100

VP Elite ($750)

Wagner, Brian IL Branch 255Rowel, Cornel LA Branch 73Randall, C. Michele MD Branch 531Barone, Thomas NY Branch 202

Secretary’s Roundtable ($500)

McHugh, James FL Branch 386Winters, Michael IL Branch 255Griffin, Troy MD Branch 42Arroyo, Victor NY Branch 85Gawron, Dennis NY Branch 27Aaron, Donna TN Branch 947

Chairman’s Club ($250)

Kiszczak, Sharon AZ Branch 246Luna, Juan AZ Branch 246Salmon, James AZ Branch 246Campbell, Stephnia CA Branch 159Dominguez, Jesse CA Branch 373Love, Valerie CO Branch 65Pashinski, Myrna CO Branch 65

Douglas, Lisa CT Branch 5Bock Jr., Robert FL Branch 406Long, Pamela FL Branch 577Murray, Donald FL Branch 93Ruckart, Kenneth FL Branch 386Sebastian, Gerald FL Branch 386Moreno, Luz IL Branch 489Perteet, Cynthia IL Branch 541Moreno, Richard MA Branch 498Amergian, Raymond ME Branch 96Anderson, Shareen MI Branch 23Bollinger, Kathreen MO Branch 36Winters, Joseph NC Branch 177Carmody, Russell NJ Branch 74Evans, Darius NY Branch 85Muhammad, Jamaal NY Branch 68Needham, Timothy OH Branch 133Skjelstad, Aric OR Branch 276Yut, Rachelle OR Branch 66Kolecki, Michele PA Branch 941Croswell, Darnel SC Branch 225Johnson, Stanley WA Branch 60

Supporter ($100)

Cherry, Hayes CA Branch 466Florentin, Diana CA Branch 244Collen, Helen CT Branch 3Sims, Reginald GA Branch 82Alos, Kanani HI Branch 214Parker, Laroma HI Branch 214Cook, Carol IL Branch 14Pitts, La Neda IL Branch 14Walsh, John IL Branch 289Warren, Susan IL Branch 255Wesley, Nancy IL Branch 493Carter, Tonious LA Branch 421Duffy, John MA Branch 43


Ignoto, Vincent MA Branch 43Jones, Marcia MD Branch 42Perkins, Ethel MI Branch 140Baker, Neil MN Branch 104Davis, Lisa MO Branch 131Barrett, George NJ Branch 74Cusyk, Kathleen NY Branch 7Hughes, Thomas NY Branch 100Jessmer, Spencer NY Branch 11Parson, Corina NY Branch 164Russell, Donna NY Branch 68Vincenzi, John NY Branch 459Wiggins, Derrick NY Branch 85Wilensky, Jeffrey NY Branch 100Bennett, Kelley OH Branch 33Baldwin, Terry OR Branch 66Ellis, David OR Branch 66McNulty, Linda OR Branch 66McVicker, Nancy OR Branch 66Adams, Jeanine PA Branch 20O’Donnell, Joseph PA Branch 20Smith, Diane PA Branch 20Cabrera, Antonio PR Branch 216Rodriguez, Jose PR Branch 216Blakely, Kathy TN Branch 41Brooks, Lamarcus TN Branch 41Proctor, Kevin TN Branch 32Brown, Lorraine VA Branch 98Johnson, Sarah VA Branch 98Krogh, Charlie WA Branch 31

Region Aggregate:1. Eastern.................$20,982.852. Southern ..............$18,751.503. Western ................$16,925.604. Northeast .............$16,054.005. Central .................$14,623.50

Area Aggregate:1. Capitol-Atlantic.....$13,191.402. New York ................$9,272.003. Southeast ...............$8,922.004. Pacific ....................$8,564.005. Mideast ..................$6,787.006. Illini ........................$5,587.007. Texas......................$5,203.508. New England ..........$5,149.009. Northwest...............$4,199.0010. Rocky Mountain....$4,162.6011. Michiana ..............$3,376.5012. North Central ........$3,194.0013. Pioneer.................$2,637.4514. MINK ....................$2,466.0015. Cotton Belt ...........$2,338.0016. Central Gulf ..........$2,288.00

State Aggregate:1. New York ................$8,852.002. California................$7,699.003. Florida ....................$7,728.004. Illinois.....................$5,587.005. Texas......................$5,203.50

Members by Region:1. Central................................702. Southern.............................593. Eastern ...............................544. Western ..............................525. Northeast............................39

Region Per Capita:1. Eastern..........................$3.532. Northeast.......................$3.233. Southern........................$3.184. Central...........................$3.135. Western .........................$2.91

Area Per Capita:1. Rocky Mountain.............$7.572. New York .......................$6.483. Illini ...............................$6.015. Capitol-Atlantic..............$5.475. Pacific ...........................$4.346. Michiana .......................$4.087. Southeast ......................$3.898. Texas.............................$3.539. Pioneer..........................$3.4410. New England ...............$2.6911. Mideast .......................$2.4512. Northwest....................$2.1113. Central Gulf .................$2.0314. North Central ...............$1.8515. Cotton Belt...................$1.7016. MINK ...........................$1.63

State Per Capita:1. Maine ............................$8.112. South Dakota.................$7.763. Maryland .......................$6.864. Hawaii ...........................$5.585. Arizona ..........................$5.24

Aggregate by Region:1. South......................$7,003.002. Central ...................$6,956.003. Western ..................$6,904.004. Eastern...................$6,360.355. Northeast ...............$3,937.35

National Aggregate: National Per Capita:$87,337.45 $3.20

Statistics reflect monies collected from Jan. 1 to April 30, 2019

SPAC Scoreboard

• • • • •

• • • • •

Drive for 5

proposed notice of discipline or decision. The time limitsbegin upon their receipt of discipline.

If an employee is eligible for mediation, then 10 daysis a reasonable amount of time from receipt of a proposednotice of discipline to request mediation. Mediation is ameans of alternative dispute resolution and an attempt toresolve disputes by controlling costs, producing quicker andmore lasting results and preserving the resources needed tocarry out the Postal Service’s mission. Extending the timelimit to 30 days to request mediation would not be an ef-fective and efficient use of this process.

NAPS notes this marks the end of the resolutionsdelegates at the 2018 National Convention passedwith the expressed desire for inclusion in the month-ly consultative process as defined by 39 U.S. Code §1004(c)(1).

March 14 Consultative Continued from page 10

To authorize your allotment online, you will need yourUSPS employee ID number and PIN; if you do not knowyour PIN, you will be able to obtain it at Step 3 below.

Go to https://liteblue.usps.gov to access PostalEASE.

Under Employee App-Quick Links, choose PostalEASE.

Click on “I agree.”

Enter your employee ID number and password.

Click on “Allotments/Payroll NTB.”

Click on “Continue.”

Click on “Allotments.”

Enter Bank Routing Number (from worksheet below),enter account number (see worksheet), enter accountfrom drop-down menu as “checking” and enter theamount of your contribution.

Click “Validate,” then “Submit.” Print a copy for yourrecords.

To authorize your allotment by phone, call PostalEASE,toll-free, at 1-877-477-3273 (1-877-4PS-EASE). You willneed your USPS employee ID number and PIN.

When prompted, select one for PostalEASE.

When prompted, enter your employee ID number.

When prompted, please enter your USPS PIN.

When prompted, press “2” for payroll options.

When prompted, press “1” for allotments.

When prompted, press “2” to continue.

Follow prompts to add a new allotment.

Use the worksheet to give the appropriate information to set up an allotment for SPAC.

Contributions via USPS Payroll Deduction

1

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3

4

5

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7

8

9

1

2

3

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Make Contributing to SPAC a Habit:

PostalEASE Allotments/Net to Bank Worksheet

On your next available allotment (you have three):

• Routing Number (nine digits): 121000248

• Financial Institution Name: Wells Fargo (this willappear after you enter the routing number).

• Account Number (this is a 17-digit number that starts with “772255555” and ends with your eight-digit employee ID number):

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

(Example: 77225555512345678).

• Type of Account (drop-down menu): Checking

• Amount per Pay Period (please use the 0.00 format; the “$” is already included): __________.

7 7 2 2 5 5 5 5 5


Submitted by Chuck MulidoreSecretary/Treasurer

he spring 2019 ExecutiveBoard Meeting was called toorder at 8:30 a.m. on March13 by President Brian Wag-

ner. New England Area Vice Presi-dent Cy Dumas gave the invocation;Northeast Region Vice PresidentTommy Roma led the Pledge of Alle-giance. Secretary/Treasurer ChuckMulidore conducted the roll call ofofficers; all board members werepresent.

Wagner welcomed the ExecutiveBoard members and thanked themfor their commitment and dedica-tion representing NAPS not just atboard meetings, but throughouttheir NAPS terms. He said he appre-ciated everyone’s counsel and leader-ship and he thanked Butts and Muli-dore for their leadership.

Wagner congratulated Butts andhis Legislative Team for another suc-cessful LTS. Members appreciatedhaving the opportunity to hear fromthe PMG. Wagner said the boardmembers later will hear from USPSChief Operating Officer DaveWilliams. He asked the board to keeptheir questions nationally based andmake sure any issue they may bringup already has been through the dis-trict and area levels.

He asked members to please no-tice the NAPS state convention as-signments; at this time, they are offi-cial, but subject to change.

Wagner said NAPS had offered,

and Jovan Duncan accepted, a pro-motion to the position of executiveoffice manager. The position is ex-empt and included a salary increasecommensurate with her new respon-sibilities, which includes managingNAPS’ new office assistant. The effec-tive date is March 16.

The goal at the board meetings isto promote the welfare of NAPS andits members by being productive andrespectful of each other’s opinionsand final decisions made as an Exec-utive Board during its meetings,Wagner said. He urged board mem-bers to stay focused on the agendaitems and continue to improve theorganization with positive actionsthat will enhance the livelihoods ofits members well into the future.

Executive Vice President Ivan D.Butts welcomed everyone to thespring board meeting and thankedthem for their support during theLTS, especially regarding contribu-tions from board members for theExecutive Board raffle. He alsothanked Director of Legislative & Po-litical Affairs Bob Levi, Legal andLegislative Counsel Bruce Moyer andthe office staff for their help in againmaking LTS so successful. He ex-pressed special thanks to the NAPSAuxiliary, without whom NAPSwould be hard pressed to have agreat LTS. It is a team effort, he said.

Mulidore welcomed the boardand offered his congratulations tothe NAPS Headquarters LegislativeTeam, led by Butts, for another out-standing LTS. He pointed out there

is a full agenda for the board meet-ing at an exciting and consequentialtime for NAPS.

A motion was made by MINKArea Vice President Bart Green, sec-onded by Central Gulf Area VicePresident Cornel Rowel Sr., to adoptthe agenda and program. The mo-tion passed on a voice vote.

Central Region Vice PresidentCraig Johnson moved, seconded byRoma, to suspend reading the min-utes of the fall 2018 board meeting.The motion passed on a voice vote.Johnson then moved, seconded byCotton Belt Area Vice President ShriGreen, to accept the minutes of thefall board meeting, previously sub-mitted to the board. The motionpassed on a voice vote.

Executive Board Chair andSouthern Region Vice President TimFord welcomed the board to Alexan-dria and reminded members they arepresent to do the work of the mem-bership and be respectful of eachother’s views.

Mulidore presented the financialreport. As of March 1, 2019, NAPSinvestments totaled $12,589,624.22.On June 1, 2018, NAPS investmentstotaled $14,157,521.51. This is a2019 fiscal year-to-date decrease of$1,567,879.29, or 11%.

As of March 1, 2019, the NAPSGeneral Fund Signature FCU Check-ing account balance was $302,873.02and the Signature FCU Money Mar-ket account was $51,884.51, for atotal of $354,757.53.

NAPS filed with the U.S. Patent

Spring Executive Board Meeting

NAPS Board Meeting FollowsSuccessful LTS

T


and Trademark Office on Feb. 20,2017, to trademark two NAPS logos:the most-recognized, red/white circlelogo, as well as the modern-lookinglogo. This is an effort by NAPS tohave control over who or what enti-ties use the logos for various purpos-es. This process is now complete.NAPS has finalized the new logoswith trademark identifiers and willissue policy guidance on the use ofthe logos no later than Aug. 1, 2019.

As of March 1, 2019, the NAPSbuilding was 90% leased. The third-floor space, formerly occupied byMarstel-Day, has been vacant sinceJan. 1, 2018. However, an agreementto lease this space is pending forMay 2019. On March 31, 2018,AACP vacated the second floor.NAPS did not receive regular ownerdistributions through FY18 and iscontinuing that process into FY19due to projected maintenance, ten-ant improvements, commissions andpotential lost revenue through unre-newed leases. NAPS Property Inc.(NPI) currently has $403,538 setaside to cover these costs.

NAPS Headquarters social mediaresults were as follows:

• Facebook—as of March 1, 2,276followers (up from 1,802 in March2018, a 26.3% increase).

• Twitter— as of March 1, 515(up from 463 in March 2018, a 12%increase).

• An Instagram account was es-tablished in April 2018; NAPS has111 followers.

• The Postal Supervisor (blog/arti-cles)—This past fall we started post-ing articles from the magazine onthe NAPS website. The intent is toshare this information with a broad-er audience by putting it online,sharing links through social media

and including links to some of thearticles through a monthly emailcalled “NAPS News.”

Traffic to the NAPS webpage hasdoubled from last year, with 7,000-8,000 visits per month, compared to3,000-4,000 visitors per month in2018. This trend started in Decemberand corresponded to the launch of“NAPS News,” which goes out bi-weekly to approximately 15,000NAPS members.

From January through December2018, the NAPS website had 229,045page views, with an average of 3.11page views per session. For all of2018, about 5% of website visitorscame from social media. But, moreimportantly, social media is beingused to build community and alsoshare other relevant postal news andphotos of members, informationabout events, answering questionsand more.

For 2018, about 46% of our webtraffic was direct; about 40% wasfrom organic searches online(Google, Bing, etc.). The rest camefrom referrals (8%—top three areblue-search.usps.gov, fedsmith.comand postalnews.com), email andothers. So far this year, however,64% of traffic to the naps.org web-site is direct and 29% is from organicsearches, referrals, email and others.

As of the March 2019 DCO, thetotal number of active EAS non-mem-bers was 10,310. This number isbased on the USPS payroll files ofnon-member EAS employees who arecoded non-postmasters. Based on cur-rent membership totals, there are ap-proximately 27.42% non-members.

NAPS continues to encouragemembership growth by providingsponsors of new members a $25NAPS check. Local and state branch-

es continue to receive their NAPSNon-Member and Change Summaryreports, along with their DCO andMail reports on a monthly basis.

Current contracts, per board mo-tion, expiring before the fall 2019Executive Board meeting are JackWallace (May 31, 2019), NAPS ac-countant; and Balent-Young Publish-ing, Inc. (actually December 2019).

Disciplinary Defense Fund (DDF)provider Al Lum, Labor RelationsAdmin Group (LRAG), and Butts up-dated the board on the DDF regard-ing wins/losses/settlements and a review of current cases.

LRAG’s first year as the DDFprovider has been eventful. While ittook some time to get acclimated,standard operating procedures wereput in place to address calls frommembers, hire staffing and organizeactivities of the DDF. Currently,there are 12 advocates working forLRAG; four are attorneys.

From January through December2018, 150 DDF cases were processed;the DDF has been very busy. The topissues include performance, followedby falsification issues, sexual harass-ment (often involving the use ofpostal cellphones to send picturesand texts) and issues surroundingthe NALC’s use of the Joint State-ment on Violence in the Workplaceagainst EAS employees. So far in2019, there have been 84 DDF cases,with the major issues continuingfrom 2018.

Legal and Legislative CounselBruce Moyer provided an update onthe current state of pay talks. Therewas discussion among the boardabout the pay consultation process.

There was no old business.Under new business, there was

discussion about the new SPAC en-


velope to be used for contributions.National Auxiliary President PatriciaJackson-Kelley told the board over$30,000 had been collected so farfrom LTS. She expressed her thanksand appreciation to Butts and theLegislative Team for their support ofthe Auxiliary at LTS.

She thanked Auxiliary ExecutiveVice President Laurie Butts and Sec-retary-Treasurer Bonita Atkins, aswell as staff members at NAPS Head-quarters, for their help during LTS.The resident officers thanked theAuxiliary for all its hard work, notonly at LTS, but throughout the yearand at so many events.

David Williams, USPS chief oper-ating officer, thanked the ExecutiveBoard for the opportunity to addressNAPS leadership. The USPS and

NAPS must work together to meetthe challenges ahead for the PostalService, he stressed. Service hasgained momentum; there were gainsover last year in most categories.

Williams said scanning perform-ance has not improved; it’s slightlybehind last year’s score. Overall per-formance has not met overall goal inmany categories, yet the momentumis encouraging. He said headwindsahead for the Postal Service includea decline in Amazon volume, period-icals and marketing mail.

Advertising competition from so-cial media has further led to declinesin advertising revenue and mail vol-ume. UPS and FedEx, along withAmazon, are building delivery pointdensity to grow package volumes, fur-ther eroding parcel select volumes.

Williams said the USPS must findways to respond to volume declinesand continue to right-size theagency in order to keep costs in linewith the challenges in revenue.Every interaction with customershappens on the frontline with ourEAS employees, he said.

He told board members the fiscalYTD is 9.3 million hours over plan.Frontline EAS employees must driveefficiencies, manage overtime, dis-patch trucks on time from the plantsand get carriers out on time from de-livery units. This is a systems issue—not a plant or delivery issue.

Air transportation scores aremuch worse than surface scores,Williams noted. While this has beenwidely accepted for years, data indi-cates 75% of First-Class parcel deliv-


ery failures arrive prior to air depar-ture times. So, he professed, we dohave control over the air deliverynetwork. Only 70% of surface tripsleave on time, which certainly im-pacts service. In closing, he stressedNAPS is part of the managementteam.

The monthly consultative meet-ing was held with Bruce Nicholson,Phong Quang and Henry Bear repre-senting Postal Headquarters (see page8).

Following are Executive Boardcommittee updates:

Ethics—Chair Craig Johnson ex-plained the Code of Ethics was re-vised in October 2018; there were nofurther updates at this board meeting.

SWCs—Chair Jimmy Warden,New York Area vice president, report-ed that the three resident officers,along with Roma and himself, metwith USPS Labor Relations Vice Pres-ident Doug Tulino and members ofhis staff on Feb. 21 at Postal Head-quarters. Northeast Area Vice Presi-dent Ed Phelan retired and no longerwill represent the Postal Service onthe SWCs team. Tulino is seeking aperson with vast knowledge of De-livery to join the team.

It was agreed to perform the newSWCs proposal in one site in eacharea. The sites were discussed and se-lected based on the new SWCs mod-ule. Tulino will discuss the sites withDelivery Operations Vice PresidentKevin McAdams. Once approved,the sites will be released. Hopefully,the test will be done over a 60-dayperiod.

At the conclusion of the test, afinal proposal will be developed forconsideration by USPS leadership.Warden recommended that, beforeconducting the tests, a meeting

should take place with the respectivedistrict managers and/or respectiverepresentatives to emphasize the im-portance of conducting the test, aswell as show them the program.Warden said it was agreed there needto be oversight and adherence fromthe districts.

Duties and Responsibilities—Chair Shri Green discussed that theD&R Guide was updated in October2018; no further updates were madeat this board meeting.

Legislative—Chair Marilyn Wal-ton, Western Region vice president,updated the board on legislative ef-forts. Since the fall Executive Boardmeeting, she was busy helping planthe 21st Annual California PostalEmployees Legislative Coalitionevent in February. She said the coali-tion was honored to host PresidentBrian Wagner and Bob Levi, NAPS’legislative & political affairs director,at this year’s event. She explainedthat, for many years, Levi had at-tended via Skype. He has manyfriends in California and everyonewas happy he was there is person.

All the unions, both postal man-agement associations, NARFE andthe California Labor Council attend-ed. There were Skype presentationsfrom the national legislative direc-tors from the APWU, Rural Carriersand Mail Handlers. Walton said at-tendance was up at this year’s event;her counterpart from the APWU,Western Region Coordinator OmarGonzales, led the discussion.

Walton reported that, during thevarious presentations and panel dis-cussions, it appears everyone is inlockstep preparing to go to CapitolHill and push to ensure the USPS isnot privatized, six-day and door-to-door delivery are maintained and

work continues on a fair postal re-form bill. While the organizationssupport other bills, the consensus iswe need to maintain a strong, viableand secure Postal Service.

A highlight of the annual legisla-tive event was when Walton; MarshaDanzy, California State legislativeconsultant; and Yolanda Grayson,Los Angeles Branch 39 legislative di-rector, participated in a podcast withLevi. She said it was a great experi-ence and a good way to spread theword on the coalition’s and every-one’s commitment to promotingpostal legislation on the homefront.

Since the 116th Congress wassworn in, Walton reported she hasbeen working with the CaliforniaState legislative consultant to updatethe state’s 52 congressional mem-bers, their building/room numbersand committee assignments. The up-dated listing was out in time to assistthe California delegation in bookingtheir appointments at LTS.

Walton said she also attendedher congressman’s—Rep. John Gara-mendi (D-CA)—annual Crab Fest,sponsored by NAPS. NAPS was ableto take eight of Garamendi’s postalconstituents to the event held at thelocal community center. There wereover 800 attendees representinglabor, military and communitygroups. She said it was great tospend quality time with her congres-sional representative.

Southeast Area Vice PresidentBob Quinlan reported that he visitedhis congressman’s office at home,where he informed Rep. Daniel Web-ster (R-FL) of the importance ofpostal reform. A meeting was sched-uled with Webster on Capitol Hillfor March 12.

Florida and Georgia finished

15—Rocky Mountain Area (AZ/CO/NV/NM/UT/WY)Myrna Pashinski21593 E. Layton Dr., Aurora, CO 80015-6781(303) 931-1748 (C)[email protected]

16—Pacific Area (CA, HI, Guam, American Samoa)Chuck Lum95-12222 Moea St., Mililani, HI 96789-5965(808) 227-5764 (C)[email protected]

12—Cotton Belt Area (AR/OK/TN)Shri L. Green4072 Royalcrest Dr.,Memphis, TN 38115-6438 (901) 362-5436 (H) (901) 482-1216 (C) [email protected]

13—Texas Area (TX)Jaime Elizondo Jr.PO Box 1357, Houston, TX 77251-1357(832) 722-3737 (C)[email protected]

14—Northwest Area (AK/ID/MT/OR/WA)Cindy McCracken3247 109th Ave. S.E. #A, Bellevue, WA98004-7532(206) 465-8689 (C)[email protected]

9—MINK Area (IA/KS/MO/NE)Richard “Bart” Green7919 N Flintlock Rd., #K, Kansas City,MO 64158(913) 205-8912 (C)(816) 763-2579 (O)[email protected]

10—Southeast Area (FL/GA)Bob QuinlanPO Box 490363, Leesburg, FL 34749-0363; (352) 217-7473 (C)(352) 728-5992 (fax)[email protected]

11—Central Gulf Area (AL/LA/MS)Cornel Rowel Sr.808 N Sabine Dr., Baton Rouge, LA70810-2471(504) 450-1993 (C)[email protected]

6—Michiana Area (IN/MI)Kevin Trayer8943 E. DE Ave., Richland, MI 49083-9639(269) 366-9810 (C)[email protected]

7—Illini Area (IL)Luz Moreno625 Alhambra Ln., Hoffman Estates,IL 60169-1907; (847) 884-7875 (H)(773) 726-4357 (C)[email protected]

8—North Central Area (MN/ND/SD/WI)Dan Mooney10105 47th Ave. N, Plymouth, MN55442-2536(612) 242-3133 (C)[email protected]

Brian J. [email protected]

Ivan ButtsExecutive Vice [email protected]

Chuck MulidoreSecretary/[email protected]

The resident officers may be contacted at 1727King St., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753;(703) 836-9660; (703) 836-9665 (fax)

Resident Officers

Central Region (Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9)Craig O. Johnson9305 N. Highland Ct., Kansas City,MO 64155-3738; (816) 914-6061 (C)[email protected]

Southern Region (Areas 10, 11, 12 and 13)Tim Ford6214 Klondike Dr., Port Orange, FL 32127-6783; (386) 767-FORD (H)(386) 679-3774 (C) [email protected]

Western Region (Areas 14, 15 and 16)Marilyn WaltonPO Box 103, Vacaville, CA 95696-0103(707) 449-8223 (H)[email protected]

3—Mideast Area (DE/NJ/PA)Tony DallojaconoPO Box 750, Jackson, NJ 08527-0750(973) 986-6402 (C); (732) 363-1273 (O)[email protected]

4—Capitol-Atlantic Area (DC/MD/NC/SC/VA)Troy Griffin1122 Rosanda Ct., Middle River, MD21220-3025(443) 506-6999 (C)(410) 892-6491 (H)[email protected]

5—Pioneer Area (KY/OH/WV/Evansville, IN, Branch 55)Timothy NeedhamPO Box 21, Niles, OH 44446-0021(330) 550-9960 (C)[email protected]

NAPS Executive Board Directory

Northeast Region (Areas 1 and 2, including all NJ,except Branch 74)Thomas Roma385 Colon Ave., Staten Island, NY10308-1417; (718) 605-0357 (H)(917) 685-8282 (C)[email protected]

Eastern Region (Areas 3—DE, PA and NJ Branch 74—4and 5)Richard L. Green Jr.7734 Leyland Cypress Lane,Quinton, VA 23141-1377(804) 928-8261 (C)[email protected]

1—New England Area (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)Cy Dumas4 Adams St., Foxboro, MA 02035-2202(508) 816-7517 (C)[email protected]

2—New York Area (NY/PR/VI)James “Jimmy”Warden137 Evergreen Court, Freehold, NJ07728-4122(917) 226-8768 (C) [email protected]

Area Vice Presidents

Regional Vice Presidents


number one in SPAC for the South-east Area; Florida was number one intotal SPAC contributions in thecountry. Quinlan said Florida con-tinually strives to be number oneand always challenges other states toraise the bar for SPAC. At everybranch meeting, they sponsor 50-50raffles, which helps for the year.There also is a silent auction at thestate convention, to which membersdonate items.

Jimmy Warden reported on hisOct. 28 legislative training where heasked all the branches to establish ordesignate a position for their respec-tive branch as the legislative chair;Butts also attended and assisted atthe training. Information was sharedwith each participant on how toconduct a meeting with their respec-tive congressional representative. Abinder with information specific tothe representative in their area oftheir branch was distributed to eachparticipant.

All participants were urged tovisit their elected representative intheir home district, in addition tovisiting them in Washington at LTS.Regarding LTS, there were someminor issues in getting appoint-ments with some of the representa-tives. Because some NAPS legislativechairs do not live in the representa-tives’ districts, the representatives’aides did not want to schedule meet-ings. Thanks to Bob Levi, these is-sues were rectified and meetingswere scheduled.

Warden said they presently areworking on scheduling meetings inthose districts that were unable tosend a person to LTS. A meeting hasbeen scheduled with freshman Rep.Max Rose of Staten Island andBrooklyn to meet with Roma and

himself, along with representativesfrom the branch. Max Rose was un-able to fit the NAPS delegation intheir schedule on March 12 in Wash-ington, DC. They will meet withRose in his district office (see page11).

Texas Area Vice President JaimeElizondo Jr. reported that, since thefall board meeting, he has reviewedthe legislative information fromLevi. He forwarded the emails to hisTexas NAPS members and stressedthe need for everyone’s legislative in-volvement in order to build supportfor NAPS’ efforts.

Elizondo said he continues to beon the email lists for both Texas sen-ators and continues to review theirpositions on national topics affect-ing the USPS and NAPS. He sendsthem personal emails regardingNAPS’ stance on legislative issuesand stresses the size of the Texas del-egation. He continues to push fortheir support on postal reform legis-lation, as well as with his congress-man.

Elizondo said every time he hasattended branch installations orbranch meetings since the fall boardmeeting, he has pushed for supportfor SPAC and talks about the currentpolitical climate the USPS faces withPresident Trump and his USPS agen-da. He makes sure to mention theNAPS legislative agenda and theneed for a good legislative presence.

PFP Advisory Committee—ChairDan Mooney, North Central Area vicepresident, discussed the committee’sinput to the Postal Service regardingthe 2019 PFP program. NAPS hasbeen involved in the process, offeringinput and suggestions. Despite its ef-forts, this does not mean NAPS agreeswith the final product.

Postmaster—An update wasgiven on the committee’s efforts toincrease postmaster membership inNAPS and to effectively address post-master issues.

Training and Advocacy—ChairMyrna Pashinski, Rocky MountainArea vice president, discussed thecommittee’s work on updating theOfficer Training Manual, as well asother projects, including Pacific AreaVice President Chuck Lum’s effort tocontinue developing his leadershiptraining program. Tim Ford’s presen-tation on how to stay out of troubleis being converted to a PowerPointpresentation, as well as Marilyn Wal-ton’s Representation 101 program.

Membership—All ExecutiveBoard members are responsible forhelping increase membership. Dis-cussions centered on new ways toincrease membership with potentialrevisions to the current membershipaward program, as well as socialmedia opportunities.

Plant Committee—It was dis-cussed that EAS staffing of MDO andSDO positions is inadequate. Vari-ances between plants in size, equip-ment and staffing require a newmodel that accounts for the diversedifferences in plants. This modelcannot be effective with the “one-size-fits-all” premise. In addition tothe primary purpose of Function 1issues, the support functions of in-plant, maintenance and transporta-tion have similar needs to be ad-dressed and corrected.

Committee members will acquireand analyze the latest available dataand model for EAS matrix in allplant functions. The committeeplans to review the various-sizeplants in their respective regions/areas to document and recommend


a corrective solution to what theSWCs committee has attempted. Amore detailed and comprehensivereport will be made at the fall 2019board meeting.

Sheri Davies, ConferenceDirect,provided an overview of the 2019LTS. An outstanding feature hasbeen the year-over-year growth insponsorship dollars, which reducesoverall costs.

Stacey Herndon, PNC Invest-ments, gave the board an update onNAPS investments. There has beenvolatility in the market, but NAPShas a good investment strategy thatis conservative and balanced in na-ture. It is recommended that NAPSstay the course over the nextmonths.

Butts, Moyer and Levi reportedon the just-concluded successful LTS.

Capitol Hill visits were productive;many members got to meet theirrepresentative or senators in person.Approximately 300 delegate feed-back forms were received for reviewby the Legislative Team. LTS SPACdonations exceeded $30,000.

The House should schedule ahearing soon on postal reform, po-tentially previewing a bill to be in-troduced. There was discussionabout President Trump’s Task Forceon the Postal System. While many ofthe proposals most likely will not geta hearing in the current Congress,NAPS must stay focused on the long-term goals of the task force report.

An update from Signature Feder-al Credit Union focused on its suc-cessful and beneficial banking rela-tionship with NAPS. There was aproposal to provide Signature gift

cards to NAPS members at a dis-counted rate.

Legal and Legislative CounselBruce Moyer provided the board aconfidential update on pay talks/fact-finding and other pending legalmatters.

Motion 1—Jaime Elizondo, sec-onded by Tommy Roma, that

“NAPS continues contract nego-tiations with Karen Young to publishthe NAPS magazine for the standardtime frame.” The motion passedunanimously.

Motion 2—Mideast Area VicePresident Troy Griffin, seconded byPioneer Area Tim Needham, that

“The resident officers take dataand information from April and takeappropriate measures to investigatethe feasibility of establishing status

The NAPS Postmaster

By Laura Hires

re you thinking of retiring orstarting to save for retirement?Whichever end of the spec-

trum you are on, making yourmoney work for youshould be a top priority.There are many factors re-lated to retirement plan-ning; it’s never too earlyto begin.

You may need to starta Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)or IRA schedule manyyears in advance. If you are enrolledin the Federal Employees Retirement

System (FERS), are you on the righttrack to meet your goals? One thingyou should know is in order to re-place your income in retirementyears, you need a combination ofthree components: your annuity, So-

cial Security benefits andTSP contributions.

As a FERS employee, ifyou contribute 5 percentto your TSP, the Postal Ser-vice will match it, whichdoubles the contribution.If you are not contribut-ing, you are not taking full

advantage of the program. You don’thave control over your Social Securi-

ty benefits and calculations on yourannuity could change, but you dohave control over your TSP.

Time is money. Take the time!Visit liteblue.usps.gov FinancialWellness. The Human Resources De-partment has provided numeroustools to get us pointed in the rightdirection. Many of the questions youhave now and in the future can beanswered here. Financial knowledgeis the key to financial growth.

[email protected]

Laura Hires is Grand Rapids, MI,Branch 130 treasurer and the postmas-ter of Grandville.

Toward Financial Literacy

A

Continued on page 30


Thoughtsfrom the NAPS Branches

By Dioenis D. Perez

recently attended the ManagerialEssentials for Field LeadershipGroup 11 training in Oklahoma.

This is new training for Level-21-and-above offices. I highly recom-mend it. There were anumber of presentations Ithought had great poten-tial for bringing in newrevenue while savingmoney for the USPS withvery little capital invest-ment.

One idea was havingthe USPS logo on sport teams’ uni-forms in order to expand our brand,make it more recognizable and gen-erate, in theory, more revenue. Thisidea was put on the e-ideas programin the blue pages; log in and vote onit, if you like it. Thank you, StevenBelmont from South Dakota.

Another idea was about how wecan downsize our delivery opera-tions and save money by making theUSPS a PO box service only. Thankyou, Ty Fairbourne in Utah. Also,moving all mail boxes to the curb-side and installing CBU units.

It’s time Congress adopts thisidea and change the Postal OperationsManual to allow us to do this. Therewould be an initial outlay of moneythe USPS would incur, but the returnon consolidation of routes would bea huge savings; it needs to be consid-ered. Thank you, Arthur Gonzalez inTampa, FL.

We saw a presentation illustrat-ing the USPS is losing $44 million ayear in Priority Express Mail—an as-

tronomical amount. Not all the faultlies with our competitors who trans-port it. Certainly, we have some cul-pability with carriers failing to deliv-er our premier product on time.Thank you, Peter Kong in Jack-sonville, FL.

Priority Express Busi-ness is critical, even withour losses, because we arecontinuing in it. There-fore, why not make thisproduct a 4 p.m. guaran-teed service, advertisingthat, before your businesscloses, you will receive it

the next day? Businesses normallyclose at 5 p.m. This takes airline de-lays out of the equation and wouldallow us to give these pieces a biggerdelivery window for success and re-duce our losses.

My idea wasn’t presented at thisrecent training. It was, however, pre-sented in e-ideas several years ago:Lease for one year the advertisingspace on the back door of everypostal vehicle to the highest bidderin each area office and mail plantacross the nation. Just imagine youroffice with Amazon on all its reardoors, an office in Oyster Bay, NY,with CVS on its rear doors or a mailplant with all its tractor trailers inChicago advertising Facebook on itsrear doors. The possibilities for rev-enue stream ads are endless.

As an example, any businesswould be able to submit a bid for myoffice in Syosset, NY, which has 47vehicles that could advertise theirbusiness for a full year for whateverdollar amount the bidder believes

it’s worth in order to win the bid.This would generate an enormousamount of revenue over the courseof the year from every office nation-wide, with very little expense outputfrom the USPS.

Thank you, MEFL Group 11 facil-itators and classmates!

[email protected]

Dioenis D. Perez is Long Island, NY,Branch 202 vice president and postmas-ter of Syosset.

Thinking Outside the Box Regarding Revenue

I

and proceed to create a NAPS Mem-bers Relief Fund.” The motionpassed unanimously.

Motion 3—Chuck Mulidore, sec-onded by Chuck Lum, that

“NAPS Headquarters funds ascholarship of $5,000 per year inhonor of former NAPS PresidentLouis Atkins to be distributed equal-ly among the NAPS regions.”

Voting “yes” were Butts, Muli-dore, R. Green, Johnson, Walton,Dallojacono, Griffin, Needham,Trayer, Mooney, B. Green, Quinlan,Rowel, S. Green, Elizondo, Pashin-ski, McCracken and Lum. Voting“no” were Wagner, Dumas andMoreno. Not voting were Roma,Warden and Ford (as board chair,Ford does not vote.) The motionpassed.

Motion 4—Bart Green, second-ed by Roma,

“To accept the NAPS Headquar-ters budget as presented.” The mo-tion passed unanimously.

Motion 5— Submitted by Mari-lyn Walton, seconded by CornelRowel, that

“That, based on the three pro-

Spring Executive Board MeetingContinued from page 29


By Felicia Ann HillTexas Area Vice President

hroughout the years, the NationalAuxiliary has shared the ups and

downs of the Postal Service withNAPS—an organization es-tablished Sept. 7, 1908, bya group of supervisors whowanted to protect the ben-efits they had gained.Members and their spousessaw the need for assistanceand formed the NationalAuxiliary. Its first meetingwas held Sept. 20, 1933, and was fi-nanced by the Iowa State Branch.

The National Auxiliary has stoodfirm through laughter, tears andsteadfast determination in enthusias-tically carrying out its commitmentto NAPS. At conventions, NAPS andAuxiliary members have met newfriends and made lifelong friendshipsacross our great nation. All this isdone with pleasure and excitementwhile working together for the bet-terment of NAPS.

In March, I attended the NAPSLegislative Training Seminar whereAuxiliary members eagerly metagain. Assignments were made dur-ing our board meeting and, beforewe knew it, our work began. We ulti-mately accompanied NAPS membersto Capitol Hill where we met withcongressional representatives to pres-ent our talking points during our “15minutes of fame.”

We discussed support for H.R.597, the “Postal Employee AppealRights Amendment Act;” H. Res. 23, aresolution to maintain door mail de-livery; H. Res. 33, a resolution to op-pose privatization of the Postal Ser-

vice; and H. Res. 54, a resolution tomaintain six-day mail delivery. Wewere well-received by everyone. Rep.Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) had ourgroup escorted to her office. She hadjust chaired a committee meeting that

was followed by a pressconference and wanted tospeak with us personally.

In addition to our leg-islative duties, Auxiliarymembers also help raisefunds for SPAC. We shareideas and methods thatwork for us at our state

conventions. During this year’s LTS,we used these tried-and-true methodsto raise money for SPAC. We had in-kind gift raffles, a NAPS ExecutiveBoard raffle and sold SPAC pins. Weeven received a contribution from afew members who did not want totake a chance on packing one extraitem in their suitcases.

We are passionate about ourcommitment to NAPS and remain se-rious and purposeful in reaching ourgoals. This year at LTS, we raised$32,974 for SPAC. Thanks, NAPS, foryour support; we couldn’t have doneit without you.

The Auxiliary is proud to be partof this great organization, unwaveringand steadfast through the years. Weare dedicated to our original cause,which is to help NAPS with fundrais-ers, legislation, conventions and anyother instance where our combinedefforts will make a difference.

Thank you, NAPS, for allowing usthe opportunity and pleasure to con-tinue the work started by those whopaved the way before us. We are hereto support you.

[email protected]

from the National Auxiliary

T

Notes

Dedicated, Loyal and Excited

posals submitted to assume the du-ties of NAPS Headquarters account-ant effective June 1, 2019, for athree-year period, NAPS accepts theproposal submitted by Jack Wal-lace.”

Voting “yes” were Wagner, Butts,Roma, R. Green, Johnson, Walton,Dumas, Warden, Dallojacono,Moreno, Mooney, Quinlan, Rowel,S. Green and Lum. Voting “no” wereMulidore, Griffin, Needham, Trayer,B. Green, Elizondo, Pashinski andMcCracken. As board chair, Forddoes not vote. The motion passed.

The fall 2019 Executive Boardmeeting will be held Oct. 19-24 atNAPS Headquarters.

For the good of the association,there was discussion about articlesfrom members that are published inThe Postal Supervisor magazine.

President Brian Wagner thankedthe board for its due diligence, tak-ing part in LTS and continuing tomove forward as a team.

The closing prayer was led byTim Ford.

Wagner moved, seconded byMulidore, to adjourn the meeting;the motion passed on a voice vote.

It’s Time to PayAuxiliary Dues

Local and state branches,now is the time to pay yourNational Auxiliary dues. Pleasesubmit your payments toBonita R. Atkins, Secretary/Treasurer, PO Box 80181,Baton Rouge, LA 70898.

Make your check or moneyorder payable to NationalAuxiliary to NAPS. If youneed remittance forms, pleaseemail [email protected] orcall (225) 933-9190 and formswill be mailed to you.

Documents

June 2019 Practicing Forgiveness in the Workplace - NAPS · 2019-05-29 · Practicing Forgiveness in the Workplace Can Help EAS Employees Navigate the Road to Leadership page 5. The